Page 26 - Jewish News_04-2021

26A April 2021 JEWISH INTEREST

The Moscow Male Jewish Cappella Jewish-themed Crossword Puzzle

By Arlene Stolnitz
any of us with an Ashkenazi period as did countless actors, writers, especially appealing to audiences the YouTube has several videos of The Your monthly crossword puzzle
heritage can trace our roots novelists, journalists and musicians. world over. Moscow Male Jewish Cappella. I rec-
Mback to ancestors who came The Jewish Song Workshop, known as The choir’s founder and artistic di- ommend listening to “Avinu Malkey- is generously brought to you by
from the area known as the Pale of Set- De Yiddish Leed, listed scores of musi- rector, Alexander Tsaliuk, has directed nu” for a thrilling experience!
tlement which stretched to the most cians and included well-known names more than 800 concerts and has partic- Arlene Stolnitz, founder of the Sara-
western borders like violinists David Oistrakh and ipated in countless international music sota Jewish Chorale, is a member of
of Imperial Rus- Nathan Milstein. festivals. The choir also has record- the Jewish Congregation of Venice. A
sia. In those days, All of this has greatly influenced ed five CDs and two films. The choir retired educator from Rochester, New
known as the the music of The Moscow Male Jew- consists of 18 singers, two soloists, a York, she has sung in choral groups
Russian Empire, ish Cappella, which was established in conductor and the music director. With for over 25 years and also sings in
it became part of 1989 under the Male Choir of the Can- only 22 members, the choir is very The Venice Chorale. Her interest in
the Soviet Union tor Art Academy with support from compact and mobile, and has a reputa- the preservation of Jewish music of all
(USSR) in 1917. Mikhail Gorbachev who was then tion for learning and performing diffi- kinds has led to this series of articles
Perhaps it is president of the USSR. Together with cult works in a short time period. on Jewish Folk Music in the Diaspora.
because my ma- the Russian Jewish community and the
Arlene Stolnitz ternal grandmother American Jewish Joint Distribution MICHAEL’S
came from Odessa (which was part of Committee (a Jewish relief organiza-
the Pale), the music of The Moscow tion based in New York City), the choir AT HOME
Male Jewish Capella spoke to me. A lit- was renamed the Hassidic Cappella,
tle research revealed that even though and later became known as The Mos-
life was deplorably hard at the time cow Male Jewish Cappella. Curbside Pickup or
for many Jews, Odessa was known as The choir’s singers are profession- Contactless Delivery
a singularly musical place with music, al musicians from Moscow’s leading
theater and opera playing a significant musical institutes and conservatories.
role in the lives of its residents. Rus- They are mainly students and teachers www.MichaelsAtHome.com
sian and Yiddish folklore were popular, who are committed to performing Jew-
and songs of the era dealt with varied ish liturgical and cantorial music which
aspects of the Jewish experience. The has been largely forgotten. The music
repertoire of Russian and Yiddish they sing today originally appeared in
songs reveals the carefree but danger- the early- and mid-19 century in the
th
ous life of the time. In a future article, countries of Eastern Europe and West-
I hope to write about the life of the un- ern Russia but virtually disappeared
derworld employing the stylistic music after the 1917 revolution.
known as blatnaya pesnya. In addition to Jewish liturgical
In my reading I came upon a group music, the choir’s repertoire includes
called the Odessa Jewish Cultural So- compositions in Yiddish and Hebrew
ciety, which was a launching pad for and Russian folk songs. The music’s
the world of the arts. Renowned poet original harmonies and beauty, along
Hayim Nahman Bialik came from this with its rich Russian sound, make it

“The Guinness Puzzle of Biblical Records”
By Yoni Glatt, koshercroswords@gmail.com

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